Includes

Meals as indicated in the itinerary by the code letters (B) Breakfast, (L) Lunch, (D) Dinner

Sightseeing as described in the itinerary

Airport taxes

ASTA TOP Tour operator travel funds protection program

Domestic flights (only air & land programs)

Excludes

Domestic flights (on land only Option)

Personal expenses

Optional tours

Customary tips to your drivers, guides and escorts

Daily Itinerary

Day

1

USA - Istanbul

Enjoy a relaxing overnight flight to Istanbul.

Day

2

Istanbul - Arrival

You are greeted upon arrival and escorted to your hotel. Remainder of the day is at leisure before a welcome briefing by your tour director. (Your arrival transfer is included only if you arrive on the actual day the tour commences. For customers arriving earlier an individual transfer can be organized at an additional cost.)

Istanbul

Enjoy a full-day tour of Istanbul including Topkapi Palace (excluding harem), the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, St. Sophia (closed on Mondays), and the Grand Bazaar. Consider an optional dinner with belly-dancing entertainment. (B)

Gallipoli - Dardanelles - Canakkale

Troy - Pergamum - Izmir

Visit Troy’s legendary walls this morning before you continue your trip to Pergamum for a visit to the ancient medical center of Asklepion. Enjoy lunch with the locals at a traditional village. Arrive in Izmir in the evening. (B,L,D)

Ephesus & Virgin Mary's House - Izmir

Today tour the ruins of Ephesus and explore the 2,000 year old marble streets, a theater, the Library of Celsius, and Hadrian's Temple. Take a short drive to see the Virgin Mary's cottage. Continue to a regional rug production center to have firsthand experience of this unique art form. In the evening consider having an optional dinner at a local restaurant. (B)

Pamukkale - Perge - Antalya

Relax during a scenic drive from Pamukkale to Antalya. Pay a visit to the ancient Greek city of Perge, famous for its Temple of Artemis. Enjoy a relaxing afternoon by the Mediterranean Sea, an area known as the Turquoise Coast. (B,D)

Antalya

Today enjoy a full day at leisure or consider an optional tour to Phaselis, an ancient coastal city, or a lazy yacht cruise along the Turquoise Coast of the Mediterranean. (B,D) Note: You can extend your stay for a week at the Crystal Tat Beach Belek Resort (20 miles east of Antalya).

Konya - Cappadocia

Drive to Cappadocia, famous for it's "moon-like" landscapes. En route visit a 13th century caravanserai and the famous underground city of Saratli. Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant and overnight in Cappadocia. You can join an optional Whirling Dervishes performance. (B,D)

Cappadocia

Consider an early morning optional balloon tour. Experience floating through the volcanic valleys, fairy chimneys and caves at sunrise. After breakfast, visit Goreme, a historical region of Turkey, located among the rock formations, which was first settled back in the Roman period. Many rock churches can still be seen today, as Christianity was then the prevailing religion in that region. Continue to the town of Avanos renowned for its high quality earthenware. Also visit Pasabagi, the Red Valley and attend a brief regional pottery workshop in a cave. (B,D)

Cappadocia - Ankara

In the morning depart for Ankara. Afternoon tour of the Ataturk Mausoleum, founder of modern Turkey, and the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations with its Hittite treasures and artifacts from the world's oldest city. (B,D)

Ankara - Return

You will be transferred to the airport. (Your departure transfer is included only if you depart on the actual day the tour concludes. For customers departing later an individual transfer can be organized at an additional cost.) (B)